1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to roll-up shutters for storm and hurricane and security protection, and more particularly to a uniquely configured shutter slat assembly for storm shutters which includes a transparent viewing and light-transmitting portion formed therethrough.
2. Description of Related Art
Roll-up Storm shutters are well known and afford a great deal of window and interior protection from storms, hurricanes and from breaking and entering into a home or building through otherwise unprotected windows and doors. These roll-up shutters are formed of a plurality of interlocking horizontally extending slats which have limited pivotal motion therebetween and are typically arcuately configured in cross section to facilitate the roll-up storage of the storm shutters when not in use.
A significant drawback to such roll-up shutters is that they are traditionally formed of opaque plastic or metal material which does not permit light transmission therethrough. Therefore, when the storm shutters are deployed, the interior of the house or building is darkened substantially and the occupants, if any, cannot easily view the outside of the home or building through the closed and protected windows and doors.
A number of prior art devices related to storm shutters are known to applicant and are adapted to provide some light transmission features as well as to facilitate the exterior viewing by a person within the building as follows:
U.S. Pat. No. 6,263,943 to Lai teaches a modular rolling shutter comprised of vertically alternating rows of buckles and slats. Each slat is linked with the lower and upper buckles, allowing limited movement of the slats and buckles so that the modular shutter may be rolled and unrolled along tracks. The slats may be made of a transparent material allowing visibility without sacrificing weather resistance or security. U.S. Pat. No. 6,041,847 also to Lai discloses a building block for a rolling shutter made of plastic sheets.
A rolling door construction which is easily assembled and which includes a plurality of light-transmitting panels is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,332,287 to Stolpe. Snarli teaches a rollable or foldable shutter device for protecting, closing off or partitioning of areas, such as window areas in U.S. Pat. No. 5,456,305. The shutter is provided with panels made from a transparent material, such as polycarbonate, and hinges which are mounted so that it can be folded or rolled up. The hinges and the panels may be made in one piece. When the device is used, at least a part of the transparency remains.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,345,635 to Solomon discloses a rolling protective gate for store fronts or the like which is formed of a series of horizontally-extending transparent slats interconnected and articulated by a series of horizontally-extending metal rods. The transparent slats and metal rods are elongated, and each extends the full width of the building front access opening in which the rolling gate is mounted.
In U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2007/0175117, Brown teaches a storm shutter look out portal for storm shutters comprised of an assembly with an interior frame and an exterior frame enclosing at least one transparent panel in between, and also including a cover associated with the interior frame that is moveable from a closed position to an open position where the cover, the interior frame and the exterior frame, are all fabricated from materials that are resistant to the impacts anticipated during a hurricane or tropical storm.
Expired U.S. Pat. No. 4,690,193 to Morrison et al. discloses a rolling shutter characterized by an array of edge-adjacent, parallel shutter slats and full shutter width, clear shutter segments or links articulately interconnecting respective pairs of adjacent shutter slats. When spaced apart, the slats form therebetween a gap which exposes the clear link which permits passage of light over substantially the full extent of the gap. The clear links also provide a double hinge-like joint between adjacent slats.
Goldhaber teaches a protective enclosure for building openings such as windows and doorways wherein the protective enclosure comprises a peripheral frame member that circumscribes the openings and pivotally mounts a transparent shielding unit in U.S. Pat. No. 4,175,357.
A shutter with profiled strips made of transparent plastic is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,126,173 to Theuerkauff. U.S. Pat. No. 5,507,335 to Yu teaches a shutter with a plurality of slat units which have transparent portions through which an object behind the same can be viewed.
The present invention provides a still further improvement in the configuration of the shutter slat assembly for use in forming a storm shutter for roll-up storage and easy downward deployment. In this invention, an elongated viewing port is formed along each opaque metal or plastic slat which is covered and secured by a mating elongated transparent extruded or molded plastic panel slidably and lockably engaged within inwardly facing grooves formed along the edges of the slat.
The foregoing examples of the related art and limitations related therewith are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive. Other limitations of the related art will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the specification and a study of the drawings.